Slow to Learn
by LateNightConversations
Summary: What can a weekend bring? With these two, one can never tell.
1. No one really wins

Emerald green eyes slowly opened into silent darkness, then squinted shut again; slowly reopening at the hint of a familiar scent. Faye Valentine stretched slowly, taking a deep breath, letting the aroma fill her sleepy senses a bit more; coffee and cigarettes. Eying the small alarm clock on the bedside table, Faye groaned. _7:00 AM, too damn early. _She rolled back over, forcing her eyes shut once more, but to no avail. The invading aroma had all ready consumed her thoughts. Sighing she rolled out of bed. "Damn it Jett" Faye mumbled to herself. "Why in God's name are you up so early"

Slipping out of her room she trudged down the hall and into the common room, a little surprised by the man seated on the old worn couch. It was Spike Spiegel, not Jett Black . His bare feet propped on the coffee table, wearing a pair of lounge pants, no shirt; with a cup of coffee in one hand, and a cigarette in the other. Faye just stood there, staring blankly for a moment. Spike arched an eyebrow, slightly inquisitively. "Mornin'" he mumbled, turning his attention back to his coffee.

Ignoring his half assed attempt at a greeting, Faye headed into the kitchen to fix herself a cup, returning and plopping down in the chair across from Spike. Shifting his attention back to her, he frowned slightly, watching her take a drink. "I didn't make that for you."

Choosing to ignore his words for the second time in just a matter of minutes. Faye took a drink of the dark elixir she had been awakened by "Why are you up so early?"

Spike reached over to the ashtray on the table, and snuffed out his smoke. "You mean to tell me you didn't hear all the racket Ed and Jett were making this morning? I figured that's why you were up at a reasonable hour like a responsible adult"

Faye scoffed at his remark "Please Spike, like you are ever up at this hour. Where are Jett and Ed anyways?"

"Well, they left bright and early…meeting up with some old ISSP friend of Jett's. They're gonna be gone all weekend…. camping"

Faye nearly spit out the mouth full of coffee, as she swallowed hard. "Camping? What? Why?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Jett said something about Ed needing to unplug from the cyber world, and Ein is a dog, and should be exposed to the wilds, and blah blah blah. I kinda started to tune him out after he started in about man needing to get back to nature. But hey, on the bright side, he didn't try to drag us along."

"So its just us here all weekend huh?"

Spike nodded "Yup…looks that way. Oh, and Jett made me promise that we wouldn't blow anything up, or kill each other."

Faye reached across the table and grabbed the pack of cigarettes that sat in the middle. Tapping one out, she slowly lit it and inhaled, tossing the pack back on the table.

Spike snatched the pack up as soon as it hit the table, shoving them in his pocket. "Those aren't for you either. Jesus Faye, do you always have to such a mooch!?"

She exhaled a small cloud of smoke. " Do you always have to be such a dick?"

Spike downed the rest of his coffee, and sat his cup down on the table, staring across at her. He really wanted to come up with a good come back, unfortunately all he managed was a meager " Bitch"

Snuffing out her smoke, Faye leaned over the table. "Idiot" With that, she rose to her feet, snatching up her coffee cup, and heading toward the kitchen for a refill.

"Slut."

Faye froze in her tracks, and spun around to face him. Coffee cup in one hand, the other firmly planted on her hip. "Excuse me? What did you just say?"

Spike turned to face her over the back of the couch. "You heard me. You spend enough time in the god damn bathroom. There is a mirror in there ya know? I'm sure you've seen your reflection a time or two."

Faye made her way back into the room, setting her coffee cup down on the table, and coming to stop right in front of Spike who was still seated on the couch. _So he thinks I'm a slut huh?_ She locked eyes with him, hoping to make him uncomfortable. Needless to say she was a bit taken back when he instead rose to his feet, and stood in front of her, eyes still locked. Spike smirked, almost arrogantly. _If she wants to make this a game, I'm gonna win. _Running her finger tips idly along his forearm, Faye flashed him her best innocent smile. As Spike loosely placed his hands on her hips, both of them had all ready decided that they refused to give victory to the other. Letting her fingers slide down his forearm once more, Faye smirked. Blindly, yet seeming expertly, she allowed the tip of one finger to slide down his wrist, and hook into the waist band of his pants. At that moment Spike conceded defeat, and turned his head, breaking their staring contest.

_Finally! He's such a stubborn shit._

Spike let out a small relieved sigh, but immediately tensed when he felt Faye's breath, warm against his neck momentarily and her voice soft in his ear. "I call the shower first." And with that she stepped back, and headed down the hall, pausing for a moment to look back at him over her shoulder with a smirk, before disappearing from sight.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, Spike chuckled slightly to himself as he sat back down on the couch. This was certainly going to be a long weekend.


	2. You wreck me

Round and round and round they go. Spike stared aimlessly up at the blades of the Bebop's ceiling fan, from his reclined position on the couch. He smirked, thinking about the awkward exchange of words between himself and Faye earlier. _What exactly was all that nonsense about? _Lighting up a cigarette, he inhaled deeply, turning his attention back toward the ceiling. The only sound in the room was the gentle whooshing of air, the soft crackle of burning paper and tobacco, and the faint distant sound of the shower. _Jesus Christ! How long is that damn woman going to be in there? I might as well get in a nap, at the rate she's going. _Sighing heavily, and stretching his long arm across the table to blindly snuff out his smoke in the ashtray, Spike grinned faintly once more before closing his eyes and drifting off.

Drip. Drip .Drip. It took a moment for Spike to register that something wet was falling on his face. Groaning, he slowly opened his eyes, only to have his gaze met by Faye, her face just inches from his, water dripping from her freshly washed hair. He sat up quickly, backing to the opposite end of the couch, wiping his hand over his face.

It was then, that he also realized she was only in a towel. "What the fuck Faye?"

Arching an eyebrow, Faye stared at him with a puzzled look etched on her face. "Just wanted to let you know that shower is all yours. Is that some sort of crime? Did I miss the memo somewhere that kindness is an offense that is punishable?"

Spike choked on his laugh and rolled his eyes at her dramatics. "Riiiight….Faye Valentine, a name that is just absolutely synonymous with kindness."

It was now Faye's turn to roll her eyes, and she watched Spike stand and stretch. She quickly adverted her attention to avoid staring at his still shirtless form. "Whatever lunkhead."

"I'm gonna hit the shower…hopefully you didn't use all the hot water this time." Spike started past her, but stopped beside her, setting his hand on her shoulder.

Biting her lip slightly at the corner of her mouth, Faye shot a glare at him, eyes narrowing as his fingers barely slid along her collar bone. He leaned in, she could feel his breath on her neck. "Hey Faye?"

She could feel a faint blush creep on to her face. She felt his lips move in dangerously close proximity to her ear. "Uhhh….yeah?"

Spike smirked. _Pay back is a bitch Faye. _He let his lips softly brush her ear lobe as he spoke. "Put some clothes on."

With that he pulled away, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking away toward the shower, whistling an obscure tune as he disappeared down the hall way. Faye let out an exasperated sigh as he vanished from her field of vision. This truly was going to be a long weekend.


	3. The missing frame

Sunlight glittered across the water, a warm breeze blew through, the only sound was the faint slapping of gentle waves against the side of the ship. Stretching out in a lounge chair on the flight deck, Faye sighed, relaxing in the warm rays of sun. It was only after tearing through every drawer in her dresser that she has decided on a white tank top and a pair of short denim shorts. Of course she had also managed to leave a huge mess in the form of a pile of clothes behind in her wake. _Oh well, I'll just take care of that later. Maybe. _If this was going to be a lazy weekend she sure as hell was going to make the most of it_. _No makeup on her face, her hair still damp, Faye smiled, closing her eyes behind her sunglasses. _Fuck it, tan lines be damned today._ She has to admit to herself, this honestly was pretty damn relaxing, peace and quiet. No Ed rambling on and on about god only knows what, no barking from Ein, no Jet bitching at her for doing this or not doing that. _A woman could really start to get used to this_. Lost in her thoughts, Faye was on the verge of dozing off, when a racket from the door way snapped her back into reality. _Oh yeah, he's still here._

Turning her head toward the source of the sound, Faye arched an eye brow. There was Spike, his arms loaded up. He carried a small cooler, a tackle box and an old beat up radio stacked on top of it. A fishing pole rested against his shoulder, also balanced against the cooler. But the most intriguing part of it was that he was dressed in a white t shirt and khaki cargo shorts. _I didn't even know he owned a pair of shorts…learn something new every day._ She watched as he walked by her with out a word, and dropped the load in his arms to the ground, plopping down on the edge of the deck, his legs dangling over the side. Leaning back in the chair, Faye closed her eyes once more.

"You're going to burn"

Faye rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. " No I wont. Shut up Spike."

Spike opened the cooler, and fished around its contents, pulling out a beer, and cracking it open. "If you say so Faye, but don't expect me to lather you down with aloe when I am right."

The thick sarcasm in his voice was not missed by Faye, as she raised her hand, flipping him the bird. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were just looking for a reason to put your hands on me Spike." She peered at him over her sunglasses. His back to her, he remained silent, as he drank his beer, and began baiting his hook. She couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed at his lack of response to her quip. "Hey Spike, give me one of those beers."

Smirking to himself, Spike turned to see that she was back to lounging in the chair, not even looking his direction. Removing a beer from the cooler, he shook it with as much force as he could. "I'm not your man servant Faye, you want one, come get one."

Sighing, Faye drug herself from the chair, crossing the deck. "Fine, I wouldn't dare expect you to go out of your way to do something nice"

"I am doing something nice. I don't have to share **MY **beer with you" Spike reached up, a smile on his face, and handed the beer to Faye who was now standing beside him. His brown eyes locked on her, he held back the smirk that threatened to spread, as he eagerly waited for her to open the can.

"Now see Spike, that wasn't so bad, was it? A little sharing can get you a lo…." Her sentence cut short as she opened the can, face and hands now soaked in beer. Dropping the can to the deck, Faye bit her lip, trying to regain her composure before speaking again. Her voice stayed calm, as she spoke slowly, each word drawing out. "God damnit Spike"

Spike could feel what little beer remained in the can seep into the leg of his shorts from the can she had dropped beside him. He laughed quietly, as he awaited the angry onslaught from the woman beside him. _Anytime now…3...2.…1... _To his amazement it never came. Instead she dropped down beside him on the deck, wiping her face and hands off on his shirt.

"Hey, stop that!" he gave her a soft shove.

She shoved back, going back for a second, over exaggerated attempt at wiping her face off. In her close proximity to him, it dawned on her that he smelled really good. Quickly straightening up, she slung her legs over the side of the railing, mirroring the same position that he sat in. "You're a real jack ass Spiegel."

Nodding silently, Spike pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tapped out two, shoving both in his mouth and lit them, then reached over passing one to Faye. She arched an eye brow as she slowly accepted, taking a drag and nodding in thanks. "Do you think Jet has killed Ed yet?" Faye kept her eyes locked on the water below.

Chuckling as he exhaled, Spike grinned. "I would have by now, but Jet has the patience of a saint. But I'd be willing to bet that he comes back completely bald."

Taking another drag, Faye smiled faintly. "Hey Spike?"

"Hmmm?"

"Have you ever gone camping before?"

Giving his fishing pole a quick glance, he nodded. "Yeah, when I was a kid, I used to go with my dad and uncle all the time. That's where I learned to fish too. What about you?"

"No…well, maybe, I dunno."

"You don't know? It's a yes or no question. You said you got your memories back, soooo….its kinda cut and dry don't ya think?"

Faye crushed out her half smoked cigarette. He had definitely hit a soft spot. Still keeping her eyes on the water, she lowered her voice. "I still don't remember every little thing." Suddenly she felt anger start to well up.

Spike took another drag "Ohh.." was all he drawled out.

Fists now balled at her sides, Faye turned to look at him. Spike was taken back by the angry look that flashed across her face. "You wouldn't know that though, would you? When you came back from that whole God damned syndicate ordeal…you waltzed back in here like nothing had changed in the least bit. You didn't acknowledge the fact that had even told you anything about my memories coming back. You didn't give a shit then, and you don't know….accept to throw it in my face!"

Spike looked at her dumbfounded. The cigarette limply hanging from his mouth, he racked his brain trying to come up with anything to say. She was partially right. He had come back to the bebop as though he had never left, and just picked back up where life had left off. Though she was wrong about one thing. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he did give a shit. "Faye….I….uhh"

"No…you know what Spike? Don't bother. I don't need or want sympathy from a man who has no desire to give it.! So just shut up…" With that she stood and stormed off back into the ship.

Spike closed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming on. Draining the rest of his beer he sighed. _What the fuck was all of that about. One minute we're goofing around, and the next she blows up at me. _His thoughts were quickly interrupted by a tugging at the end of his line. Reeling in, he caught sight of the fish on the end of the hook. Unfortunately it fell off just shy of being pulled onto the deck. _Just my fucking luck._ "Son of a bitch!" Spike flopped on his back on the deck, an idea slowly working its way through his head.

Faye had spent the rest of the evening in her room. The clothes that she had haphazardly strewn about earlier, were now everywhere, thrown around in a fit of rage, along with a few other items. With red tired eyes, she observed her wrath. _Hurricane Faye._ She smirked to herself. After a nice ugly cry after her blow up at Spike, she now laid calmly on her bed in the darkness. _I don't even know why I blew up like that. I mean…I am just as guilty as him when it comes to pretending like nothing ever happened. Its not like I ever really addressed it…till now. _It wasn't like it didn't nag at her mind constantly, but today it had reached a boiling point. Sure in the 8 months since he had come back to the Bebop, they had been on much friendlier terms. They certainly still had their arguments and days of pretty much ignoring each other however. Rolling over to face the wall, Faye could hear Spike thumping around in the living room. _What the hell is that idiot doing?_ Curiosity was almost enough to get her up to investigate, but mental exhaustion won over, and she soon drifted off into restless sleep.


	4. Closer to you

. Tap. Tap. Rolling on to her side and groaning, Faye's green eyes attempted to focus on the numbers on the alarm clock. _Ugh, 7:30...not again. _Rolling away from the angry red numbers, she forced her eyes shut, until the scent of coffee assaulted her senses. _Well this sure is déjà vu.._ Reaching down and fumbling around on the floor, nimble fingers soon came in contact with a sought out item. Grabbing the hooded sweatshirt, Faye tugged it over her head and stumbled groggily out of bed. A slight headache remaining from the night before made itself known as she stepped out into the well lit hallway.

"Damnit Spike, why in God's name are you up already?" she muttered to herself.

As she passed the worn yellow couch, she stopped, rubbing her eyes. The cushions were missing.

"What in the hell….?"

As she pattered into the kitchen, desperately seeking a cup of coffee, she noticed several bags on the table, as well as the missing chairs at the scuffed up table. Absent mindedly rubbing the back of her neck, Faye began to examine the contents of one of the bags. Graham crackers, hotdogs, buns, marshmallows. The sound of a throat being cleared brought her back into the now, as she jumped a little, standing face to face with none other than Spike.

Opening her mouth to speak, Faye froze as she observed Spike's outfit. He wore the same cargo shorts and white Tshirt from the day before, but now also wore a faded flannel shirt as well. _Didn't know he owned one of those either….guess you really do learn something new everyday.._ Motioning to the bags on the table, and then at Spike himself, Faye finally found her words, taking a deep breath. "Wh….what is all of this?"

Spike set down a case of beer that he had been carrying into the room and rubbed the back of his neck almost sheepishly. "Well, look….I did a lot of thinking last night. And I uhh….guess you were kinda right."

Faye crossed her arms across her chest and waited for him to continue.

"I know I haven't always been fair to you…..ok well…no, scratch that. I haven't really ever been fair to you. I know I can be a real prick, and really that's no way to treat a friend, and I'm sorry." his voice dropped in volume and trailed off at the end, but Faye had still heard him loud and clear.

She stared blankly at him _Did he really just apologize? First time for everything I suppose. _"Okay…but still what's with all this stuff?"

Spike smirked. "Well…that's part of my peace offering, I guess you could say?"

Faye peered into the bags again, brows furrowing a bit. " I am still confused, and where did the couch cushions and kitchen chairs go?"

"Oh, those? Well, Miss Valentine, if you would just so kindly follow me, I will show you."

Rolling her eyes, Faye followed him down the corridor, through the hangar, and out to the flight deck; where an awkward mass soon met her field of vision. Walking around the bulky thing, Faye soon realized that it was the missing kitchen chairs with a tarp secured around them. Sitting neatly inside were the missing cushions, a few blankets, a couple pillows, and a battery operated lantern. "Ok seriously Spike, what's going on?"

Placing a cigarette between his lips and lighting it, Spike inhaled deeply before shoving his hands in his pockets. "Like I said Faye, I did some thinking last night." He exhaled a cloud of smoke before continuing. "You said you couldn't remember if you had ever been camping, I mean I know that its not exactly the real deal, but its somethin' " Slipping his smoke between his fingers he extended his other hand to her. "So what ya say? Truce?"

Faye arched an eyebrow at him, staring at his hand for a moment, before taking it in hers. "All right. Truce."

Spike hand yet to release his grasp on her hand. "But there are a couple rules….well ok, just one. Everything we will need will be out here. The Bebop is off limits, except for the bathroom."

Noticing that her hand still rested in Spike's, Faye quickly let it drop to her side, and gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine Lunkhead, I'll play your game, but I am taking a shower first." Spinning quickly around, Faye headed back for the ship. Silently she was thankful that Spike couldn't see the stupid grin plastered across her face.


End file.
